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Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c22: Chapter VI. Public Service, Honours, and Patriotism

Social and Political Life in the Vijayanagara Empire (A.D. 1346 – A.D. 1646) v2.c22

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English

Contents

Chapter VI. Public Service, Honours, and Patriotism

Section I. Pre-Vijayanagara traditions

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The people of western and southern India gave expression to their sense of service to the State in apparently superstitious but truly patriotic acts of bravery. Patriotism, as understood in our own times, it must be confessed, is rarely to be found in the mediaeval ages; but they had a notion of loyalty and service which was remarkable for the decades in which they lived. The heritage which the people, especially of the Karṇāṭaka, gave to the land in this respect was bound to leave a permanent mark on the minds of the later generations. It is true that superstition may have guided the less ignorant to perform what may indeed be called a strange custom. Sōmeya and his uncle (?) Bāchcheya died fighting in a conflict with robbers, who had outraged the modesty of women, in A. D. 1198. A *viragal* or memorial stone in honour of the heroes, was set up, and wet land was granted that food and flowers may be offered to it.¹ The custom of setting up *viragals* to commemorate the death of a gallant man in a fight was universal in southern India; but that of granting lands for the offering of such memorial stones is mentioned only in this singular inscription. But nobler examples are those of men and women of the thirteenth century. In about A. D. 1215, in the reign of the Hoysala king Vira Ballāḷa Dēva, the great master of robes, the Halivāna-sāvanta, Si...śeya Nāyaka's mother Honnakkā Nāyakiti died; and her female servant Ma...ya...kiti Honni "gave her head to the hook and gained the world of gods". The stone set up on this occasion was called thira-sthāyiyāgi nil (l) isida kallu (stone set up as a permanent memorial).¹

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¹ My. Arch Report for 1926, p. 58.

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¹ E. C., XI., Mk. 12, p. 91; Kavicharite, II., p. 7. See infra, Chapter IX, for a detailed account of the siḍi performance.

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But the example set by the great general Kuvara Lakkaya, his wife, and his brave soldiers in about the year A. D. 1220 is hardly rivalled in the entire range of Karṇāṭaka history. Kuvara Lakkaya, or as he was also called Kuvara Lakshma, was the minister of the same Hoysala king Vira Ballāḷa II. But "between servant and king there was no difference, the glory and marks of royalty were equal in both". The record which gives us this information also praises Kuvara Lakkaya for his bravery and learning, and relates that "he gave his word to king Ballāḷa that he would keep him free from fear. Not like ministers who, binding a toḍar on the leg as a decoration, guarding the wealth they obtain as if fearing to lose it, taking good care of their persons, in the time of trouble to their master accept service under another family,—he remained faithful to king Ballāḷa in all circumstances". The great general had 1000 warriors bound to him by an oath. There arose some occasion for the celebrated minister to prove his worth; and "his warriors, his beloved wife (Suggala Dēvi) and himself having with him surrendered their whole life to their ruler", mounted up "the splendid stone pillar covered with the poetical vīra-śāsana", thereby proclaiming their devotion to their royal master.² This epigraph does not inform us the exact circumstances which prompted the gallant general and his wife and warriors to give up their lives for the sake of their ruler.

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² E. C., V., P. I., Bl. 112, pp. 71-4.

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But the precedent thus shown was maintained in later years as is proved by epigraphs dated A.D. 1257 and A.D. 1292. In the former we are told that Sivaneya Nāyakaṇ, who belonged to the well known family of Gaṇḍa Nārāyaṇa Seṭṭi, "with five of his servants, fulfilled his engagement (or vow) with Ballāḷa Dēva". The same epigraph continues to narrate that "Lakkeya Nāyaka, with his wife Gaṅgā Dēvi and three servants, fulfilled his engagement with Narasinga". To the same celebrated family which traced its descent from Gaṇḍa Nārāyaṇa Seṭṭi belonged Kanneya Nāyaka. This brave man with his wives Ummavve, Javanavve and Kallavve, and with ten maid-servants and twenty-one man-servants, six times embraced Garuḍa on (or from) the head of an elephant and fulfilled his engagement with Sōmēśvara Dēva.¹ The other inscription is dated A. D. 1292 and refers us to the reign of the Hoysala king Vīra Narasimha Dēva. The high traditions of the family to which Kanneya Nāyaka belonged were continued by his son Singeya Nāyaka who "with his wives Kētavve, Honnavve and Nāchavve, and with ten maid-servants, and twenty man-servants on (or from) the head of an elephant six times embraced Garuḍa, and fulfilled his engagement with Narasimha Dēva" (...mēle āru-bāri Garuḍanan appi bāseyam pūraysidanu).²

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¹ E. C., IV, Kr. 9, pp. 100-101.

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² Ibid., Kr. 10, p. 101; Rice, Mysore & Coorg, p. 171; My. Arch. Report for 1914-15, pp. 55-6. For other examples of men who died fighting for the interests of a temple in A. D. 1281-2, see My. Arch. Report for 1927, pp. 40-1.

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Honours were conferred on these gallant men who sacrificed their lives in order to "fulfil their engagement" with their rulers. Kuvara Lakkaya, as we have remarked, received the privilege of binding a golden toḍar on his left leg. This was given to him together with the right of tying "the pearl peṇḍe round his lotus foot". "The clusters of pearls in his gaṇḍa-peṇḍāra shone like the stars, and the golden toḍar on his ruddy left foot like the fresh opening champaka blossom".³ Gaṇḍa-peṇḍāra seems to have been conferred also as a title by the Hoysala rulers. Thus under Hoysala Narasimha Dēva, in A. D. 1277, Sōmeya Daṇṇāyaka's son-in-law Kumāra Dorabhak-kare Daṇṇāyaka is called the king's chief crest-jewel minister, the gāyi-gōvaḷa, gaṇḍa-peṇḍāra, and maṇḍalika-jāba.⁴

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³ E. C., V, P. I., Bl. 112, p. 73 op. cit.

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⁴ E. C., IX, Kn. 72, p. 129.

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The Tamil kings too showed their appreciation of the services of their subjects by bestowing on them honours and privileges. According to an inscription dated A. D. 1004 Manija fought gallantly during the reign of the Chōḷa king Rāja Kēsarivarman Perimmāṇaḍigaḷ, and secured from the monarch the privilege of wearing a paṭṭa inscribed with the title *Kshatriya-śikhāmaṇi-Koṅgāḷva*, together with a nāḍ called Mālavvi (mod Mālambi).¹ In the reign of Sundara Pāṇḍya in A. D. 1227, his great minister Sōran Uyyaninrāḍuvāṇ *alias* Gurukulattariyaṇ was not only entitled to a great many titles but to the honour of enjoying a rare privilege. Whenever he visited a temple, a kāḷam had to be sounded proclaiming—"Hail! Gurukulattambirāṇ is come!"²

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¹ *E. C.*, I, No. 46, p. 68 (2nd ed.)

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² *Ep. Report* for 1923, p. 110. For the rights and privileges of king's officers under the Tamil rulers, see *S. I. I.*, III, P. III, p. 301; *S. I. I.*, II, pp. 512, 530 *seq*. For some notice of loyalty to a departed monarch, Bāṇa, *Harshacharita*, pp. 160, 173.

Section 2. Public Service under Vijayanagara

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We have brief notices of rewards for public service in Kṛishṇa Dēva Rāya's *Amuktamālyada*. "It is good that a king should reward a worthy man having well tested him, before himself requesting him and before a third party recommends. The reward should come unawares like the fruits of the jack-tree and like a dream."³ But inscriptions contain more information on the subject. The rulers recognized the services of their subjects, and conferred on them rewards in the shape of grants of land and titles and honours together with privileges and rights.

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³ *Amuktamālyada*, J. I. H., IV, v. 274, p. 75.

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One of the earliest records which mentions what appears to be State service is that dated A. D. 1380 of the times of Harihara Rāya. His younger brother Vira Mallappa Oḍeyar's son Channappa "when the Turuhkas were swarming over Ādavāni *durga* and kingdom, conquered those Turuhkas, took possession of the *durga* (or hill-fort) and kingdom, and gave them to Harihara Rāya" receiving a kingdom of his own in return.⁴ An effaced inscription dated A. D. 1460 tells us that when the great minister Dēvarasa was ruling Gutti, the Maḷalagade *mahā-prabhu* Mācha Gauḍa's...Māda Nāyaka's son Bayire Nāyaka gave his life in his master's service (*tamma voḍeyana svāmi-kāryyakke tanna prāṇavakoḷ [ṭ] anu*).¹ During the reign of Sadāśiva Rāya, according to a copper-plate dated A. D. 1557, the *Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara* Rāma Rāju Tirumala Rājayya Dēva granted to Mahīpati Yerrama Nāyaka for faithful service done to the State and for guarding the country the villages of Gooty, Tāḍpatri, Vellaḷūru, Śiṅgaṇamla and Siyyaḍa, with the right of receiving ten *varāhā* for every 100 *varāhā* of tax collected from the villages, together with the produce from two *markāls* of seedlings out of every twenty, and one bundle of fodder from that got out of two-fifths of an acre of land.² The Emperor Veṅkaṭapati Dēva Rāya in A. D. 1589 granted to the Hiriyūr-sthaḷa *Śyānabhōga* Tipparasayya Kare Virayya a deed of gift (*dāna-paṭṭe*) as follows: "This Virayya being engaged in our service, and Kenchaṇṇa Nāyaka having made known to us his previous history (*i-Virayyanu namma sēve māḍalāgi Kenchaṇṇa-nāyakanu ivara pūrva-vartamāna binnahāṃ māḍalāgi*)—we, approving of the service that this Virayya has rendered, have granted unto him an estate" which comprised eleven *sthaḷas* and 185 villages under the *kaṭṭes* (or ponds) in which were many *mānya* rice-lands (specified).³

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⁴ *E. C.* XII, Kg. 43, pp. 39-40.

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¹ E. C., VIII, Sb. 488, p. 82.

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² S. R. Aiyangar, Cat. of C. P. in the Mad. Mus., No. 29, p. 53.

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³ E. C., XI, Hr. 88, p. 114.

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But this one example of a dutiful citizen who received a *dāna-paṭṭe* does not adequately convey the different modes by which the rulers of Vijayanagara recognized the merits of those who did valuable service to the State. Granting lands was one method of appreciating the service of the people. Under this heading may be included the granting of *umbaḷi* lands, of *mānya* and *koḍāgi* lands, and of *gauḍike* rights. There were six kinds of *umbaḷi* lands: that which for want of a different designation may be called personal *umbaḷi*, the *grāma umbaḷi*, *daṇḍige umbaḷi*, *pallaki umbaḷi*, cow *umbaḷi* and permanent *umbaḷi* lands. The first of these was called a bhaṭa grant. In A. D. 1535-6 the Viceroy Veṅkaṭādri Ayyavāru gave to Jivarakshaka Bhaṭṭu Naṅdi Rāju the village of Cheruvupalli situated in the sīma of Kanagiri as a bhaṭa agrahāra.¹

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¹ Butterworth-Chetty, Nellore Ins., II, p. 661. ² E. C., VII, Sk. 50, p. 51. ³ E. C., XII, Tm. 66, p.

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The custom of granting umbaḷi lands was handed down from early times. In the reign of the Western Chāḷukya king Tribhuvanammalla Dēva, according to an effaced record dated A. D. 1076, the thirty-two thousand Brahmans of the great Gauḍa agrahāra gave lands as umbaḷi to the son of Lakkabbe of Gauḍa, for having fought and slain during the depredations committed by the forces of Kali Sāntara Dēva.² This custom passed on to the rulers of Vijayanagara as well as their officials, although we have to admit that in some instances, as in the following dated about A.D. 1598, the epigraphs do not enlighten us on the specific services which necessitated the granting of umbaḷi lands. The epigraph in question relates that the Mahā-nāḍ prabhu Biḍyavara Mummaḍi Chikkappa Gauḍaraiya gave to his son-in-law Kereya Gauḍa and his daughter K...mma, the village of Karikere a hamlet of Brahmasamudra belonging to Kōra-māgaṇi, as a grāma umbaḷi.³ Kṛishṇa Dēva Rāya in A. D. 1525 granted the new village of Lakumāpura, otherwise called Kṛishṇa Dēva Mahārāyasamudram, in the Būdihāḷ-sīme, to the learned Lakshmīdhara Bhaṭṭa, son of Kṛishṇa Bhaṭṭa, with all usual rights.⁴

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The third class of umbaḷi lands may be called daṇḍige umbaḷi. In A. D. 1532, Rāmpaya, son of Bācharasaya, Agent for the affairs of Achyuta Rāya, made a grant of Hēraḍighaṭṭa village as a daṇḍige umbaḷi to Liṅgaṇa Gauḍa of Siṅgaṭigere, with all the rice-lands, fields, and money rent (suvarṇādāya). The same epigraph relates that the donor approved "of the erection of the koḍagi boundary stones according to the śāsana forwarded by Lakkarāja Timmapaya, pārupatyagāra of our Būḍihāḷ Sime".¹ This may indicate that official enquiries were set on foot before a grant of umbaḷi lands was made.

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¹⁶ We could have taken this gift as dowry but for the silence about the question of marriage or marriage expenses in the epigraph. B. A. S. ⁴ Ibid., Ck. 10, p. 73.

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¹ E. C., VI., Kd. 126, p. 23.

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A daṇḍige umbaḷi also carried with it, like all kinds of umbaḷi gifts, the usual rights. In some instances it was granted for the gauḍike of a nāḍ. Bayirappa Nāyakayya's agents Kampaṇṇa Nāyaka and Nandyapa Nāyaka in A.D. 1543 granted to Śitakal Gaṅgappa Nāyaka for the nāḍ-gauḍike a daṇḍige umbaḷi village, inscribed on stone as follows: "Having given the nāḍ-gauḍike of the Kōḷāla-sime which was favoured as their māgaṇi by Achyuta Mahārāya, we grant you freedom from tax for dry and wet fields in all the villages of this sime, and as a daṇḍige-umbaḷi we grant you Vommachihalli belonging to the Kōḷāla-nāḍ-sime, together with all rights" (specified) as a permanent endowment.²

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² E. C., XII., Tm. 59, p. 15.

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Another kind of umbaḷi land was called pallakki umbaḷi. Chavara Chennaya Nāyakaya's Agent Rāmaparasaiya granted to Nallapa Nāyaka, in A. D. 1573, as a pallakki umbaḷi, the Aḷalugaṭa village in the Bidare-sime of the Ānabiddajare-Śivagaṅge-sthaḷa, in the kingdom of Penugoṇḍa.³

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³ E. C., XII., Gb. 59, p. 28. It may be conjectured that this kind of umbaḷi was granted for some service rendered by those who were in charge of the pallakki or palanquins of the provincial rulers. This is, however, only an assumption we are unable to prove. B. A. S.

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Cow umbaḷi (called Hasa [Hasu?] umbaḷi) was granted in A.D. 1541, by Āchirāja Tirumala Rājayya to the Gauḍas of Chēlūr together with the tank of the Bēḍanakatte village, the dry fields, and the local rights of the village (grāma-sthāna-mānya).⁴

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⁴ Ibid., Gb. 49, p. 26, text, p. 80.

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Finally, we may note that there was the hereditary permanent estate granted as an umbaḷi. Rāja Oḍeyar, son of Chāmarasu Oḍeyar of Maisūr, during the reign of Veṅkaṭapati Dēva Mahārāya, in A. D. 1615, made for the god Rāmachandra of Vahnipura, a grant of village of Bēvinahaḷḷi, belonging to Bannūr, which he had received from Veṅkaṭapati Dēva Mahārāya as an hereditary permanent estate (*sthāyiyāgi vumb-aliyāgi banda Bannūra sthalakke etc.*)¹

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¹ E. C., III., TN. 116, p. 91, text, p. 306.

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Mānya lands were also granted to persons of conspicuous merit. According to Dr. Fleet *mānya* lands mean "lands either altogether exempt from taxation or liable to only a trifling quit-rent".² Allied to these were the *koḍage* or *koḍaṅge* or *koḍaṅgi* gifts. So early as about A. D. 767 we come across these *koḍaṅge* grants. A damaged stone record assigned to that year relates that "Vikramāditya coming to Jannaya's side", gave a *koḍaṅge* of twelve *kuḷa* (of land) to a person who was called Vāṇi...³ Another record of about A. D. 970 informs us the occasion when *koḍaṅge* gifts were made. In the times of Dilipayya, when the cows of Damme of Balla were being carried off, Basalva's son Keyye fought and died in the struggle. For him the *bhaṭar*, being pleased, granted a *koḍaṅge* of ten *koḷaga*.⁴

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² Fleet., *I. A.*, IV., p. 332 (n).

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³ E. C., X., Mb. 86, p, 99.

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⁴ Ibid., Mb. 93, p. 99.

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When we come to Vijayanagara times, we meet with a variety of *mānya* grants. *Koḍage mānya*, *puri mānya*, *kaṭṭu koḍage*, *prabhu koḍage*, *dayirya koḍage*, *satige koḍage*, and *nettaru koḍage*—those were the seven different kinds of *mānya* grants. There were the ordinary grants styled simply *koḍage* gifts. Thus in about A. D. 1490 Nañja Rāja Oḍeyar made a grant of a *koḍage* house to Bōḷa-Mallikārjuna Oḍeyar.⁵ We have some details about the different kinds of *koḍage* grants. In A. D. 1419 Aubhala Rāja Oḍeyar caused a *śāsana* of temple endowments and Brahman endowments to be written. These were given as gifts for the decorations and festivals of the god Harihara "at the meritorious time of Śivarātri". The record which contains the details relating to the above endowments also tells us about "the gauḍa's *koḍage mānya* granted to Singe Gauḍa's son Rāma Gauḍa,—Maddagirihalli, and under the Voḍina channel space for 2000 areca trees, with nāḍ-gauḍike in each village".¹ Koḍage mānyas were also granted to temples. Narasaṇṇa Nāyaka's......Hochi Nāyaka and Kōṭipa Nāyaka, according to an inscription dated A. D. 1497, granted a koḍage mānya for the Tippūr temple.² As regards the other kind of mānya lands, we have the following in a record dated A. D. 1525. In that year the Eḷavaṅka (Eḷahanka) nāḍ-prabhu Kempayya Gauḍa granted the Pura maṭha śāsana as follows:—"The Chennapura village (? built by) Haima Gauḍa, belonging to our Eleyūr-sime, have we granted to you as a puri mānya, together with all rights (specified)".³

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⁵ E. C., IV., Ch. 35, p. 4.

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¹ E. C., XII., Mi. 20, p. 106.

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² Ibid., Gb. 2, p. 17.

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³ Ibid., Kg. 23, p. 35.

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The remaining four kinds of koḍage gifts are now to be enumerated. The most common grant under this heading is that related to the kaṭṭu koḍage. This was generally given to those who made agricultural improvements. They were usually called kaṭṭu koḍage or kere koḍage, although instances are not wanting to show that similar gifts were made for the same purpose in a dharma-śāsana. In A.D. 1428 Lakkaṇṇa Oḍeyar granted to Singarasa's son Annadāta a dharma-śāsana embodying the gift of rice-lands and dry fields below the tank built by Danakani Dēvi, who was evidently the wife of Annadāta, in the Bēlūr-sime belonging to the Muḷuvāyi kingdom, with all rights, free of all imposts.⁴ In this grant the name kaṭṭu koḍage is not mentioned. Kaṭṭu koḍage was also granted by private individuals. Hiriyaṇṇa Gauḍa granted to Golamayya......a kaṭṭu koḍage in Māradehaḷḷi in about A. D. 1577.⁵ From a record dated about A. D. 1698, we may infer that kaṭṭu koḍage was also known as kere koḍage. In that year Rāuta Rāya caused to be written and gave to the Holeyas of Kaltuṭanahaḷḷi a kere koḍage śāsana for having restored the Doḍḍagāvanahaḷḷi tank.⁶

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⁴ E. C., X., Kl, 104, p. 31.

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⁵ E. C., IX., Dv, 65, p. 82.

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⁶ Ibid., Ht., 41, p. 92.

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*Prabhu koḍage* was the name given to the *koḍage* referring to the chiefship of a village. In the reign of Achyuta Rāya in A. D. 1532, the village of Mallayyanapura in Arakoṭāra-sthala was given to Virabhadra Nāyaka, son of "the favourite for the affairs of that Mahārāya (the Emperor), the Perumāḷa-adhikāri Kāmyappa Nāyaka of Arakoṭāra," as a *koḍage* for his chiefship (*prabhu-koḍagey āgi*), together with all the lands and taxes pertaining thereto.¹

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¹ E. C., IV., Ch. 93, p. 12, text, pp. 35-6.

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From a stone inscription assigned to the year A. D. 1406, or thereabouts, we know that there was another kind of *koḍage* grants called the *dayirya koḍage*. The record, the date of which "is altogether wrong," informs us that "by order of Harihara Rāya II, the minister Yaḷarasa Oḍeyar granted to Virappa of Haṭṭiyūr in Hulliyūr-nāḍ, the Toṛavasamudra village in Hullūr-nāḍ as a *dayirya koḍage*, free of all imposts.² In all likelihood this kind of grant may have been made for some kind of gallant service rendered on the battlefield or in the course of a cow-raid, although we have definite evidence of the method by which they recognized the merits of brave persons in war or in a cow-fight. We are also uncertain about the nature of *satige koḍage*. In A. D. 1522 Elapa Nāyaka, son of Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya's servant Ellappaṇṇa, granted Kagere in the Bidure-sīme as a *satige koḍage* to Annaṇa Gauḍa.³

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² E. C., X., Mr. 87, p. 175. The date is given thus: *Jayābhyudaya-Saka-varuṣaṅgaḷu nālku-sāvirada-nānūru-nāl-vattu-nālkaneyalu naḍataramāna vyavahārika-Vyaya-samvatsarada Kārttika—Śu. 1 ārabhyavāgi*. P. II, p. 171.

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³ E. C., XII., Gb. 51, p. 27.

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There was one kind of *koḍage* grant which was given to those who showed their courage in a fight to rescue the cows of a village or against thieves and highwaymen. This was known as *neṭṭaru-goḍage*. On the cows of the Nelavatti *agrahāra* being carried off by Dēse of Beḷagavatti, the tailor Padma's son Chikka recovered them, although he died in the attempt. All the Brahmans of the *agrahāra*, therefore, in A. D. 1125, made a grant of land (specified) to Padma as a *nettaru-goḍage*.¹ Sometimes a *nettaru-goḍage* was granted by the ruler of the province in the presence of the farmers and subjects of the locality. Thus in A. D. 1223 when Leṅkaṇa Nāyaka of Karimale captured the cows of Maḷavaḷḷi, Māva-bōva of that place opposed him, recovered the cows but lost his life in the encounter. The *Mahamaṇḍalēśvara* Nigalūr Bommi Dēvarasa, with the approval of the farmers and subjects of Maḷavaḷḷi, granted land (specified) to Chikka-bōva, younger brother of Māva-bōva.² On other occasions the king himself ordered the grant of a *nettaru-goḍage*. The inscription which gives this information is unfortunately very much defaced. Nevertheless we are told that in A. D. 1283, in the times of the Yādava ruler Rāmachandra Dēva, a certain Rāya with his servants "entered upon the battle," and evidently he or someone lost his life in the struggle. "Pleased at his heroism, his king granted land as a *nettaru-goḍage* to Maduve Nāyakitti".³

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¹ E. C., VII, Hk. 65, p. 172. Cf. this method with that of the early times when a *kalnāṭu* was given to those who fought in a cow-raid. E. C., X, Mb. 228 of about A.D. 890, p. 126; Mb. 203 of A. D. 934, p. 122. *Kalnāṭu* means a grant for the purpose of setting up (*naḍu*) a memorial stone (*kal*) *My. Arch. Report* for 1912-3, p. 31.

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² E. C., VII., Sk. 268, p. 144; see also Sk. 217 of A. D. 1248, p. 130.

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³ E. C., VIII., Sa. 63, p. 104. See also Sb. 502 dated A. D. 1294 p. 84; E. C., VII., Sk. 211 of about A. D. 1294, p. 129, Cf. *Mrityuka-vritti* or death allowance mentioned in the Chandel grants, Ghoshal, *Ag. Syst.*, p. 63.

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Allowances granted to the relatives of those who died in a cow-raid, siege, or riot were called merely *umbaḷi* grants or *nettaru-goḍage* in Vijayanagara times. In A. D. 1387 "some one fell in fight at Chandragutti " and an *umbaḷi* was granted to his son.⁴ Another incomplete record dated A. D. 1436 informs us that "the servant of Bomma-gavuḍa of...of Eḍe-nāḍ...Chandragutti of Banavāsi Twelve Thousand...Hiriya Tammaya Nāyaka, besieging Kaṇagoṭa in the service of his master, fell. For his children was granted an *umbaḷi*".⁵ In the reign of the same monarch, Dēva Rāya II, according to another effaced record, his minister Irugappa Oḍeyar ruled over Gōve and Chandragutti. "From Eḍe-nāḍ, especially from Kuppeyahaḷḷi, Malalagade Bomma Gauḍa, in the service of his *guru* Nāgi Dēva, besieged Banavāsi,...thinking that if they gave...they would be beaten...Bayichana of the school (*sāle-yana Bayichanu*)...and gained the world of gods. For his children, the forty-two, being pleased, granted land (specified) as a *nettaru-gōdāna*".¹ We are to imagine that when marauders drove off the cows of Koṇḍagaṇaḷe, in A. D. 1448, and Mādi Gauḍa and Sūrappa Gauḍa, father and son, both fought with the army, stabbed the men, seized the horse, and distinguished themselves with the highest devotion, provision must also have been made for their children by the people of Koṇḍagaṇaḷe. The record merely ends with the fact that on this occasion "Madi-Gauḍa's wife and mother both went to *svarga*".²

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⁴ E. C., VIII., Sb. 512, p. 85.

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⁵ Ibid., Sb. 490, p. 82.

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¹ *E. C.*, VIII., Sb. 489, p. 82.

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² *Ibid.*, Sb. 559, p. 89.

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That war relief was granted to the children of those who fell in a fight or riot is clear from an epigraph dated A.D. 1462 which mentions that in the riot at Hedḍase, Kesalūr Tippa Gauḍa having laid about him and died, a grant of land (specified) was made for his wife and children.³ But there can be no doubt that on some occasions, the services of brave men were merely commemorated by inscribing their deeds on a *viragal*. When the cows of Puleya Haraūr in Hiriya Jiḍḍa-ḷige-nāḍ were being impounded, in A. D. 1454, when Liṅgappa Oḍeyar was the governor of Chandragutti, certain Gauḍas of Kuḷavāḍi (named) fought and died in the struggle. A combined *viragal* (*sāṅgaṭyada virakallu*) was set up for those who died. The inscription does not mention any *umbali* gift granted to their children.⁴

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³ *Ibid.*, Sb. 506, p. 84.

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⁴ *Ibid.*, Sb. 168, p. 24.

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This was certainly not the usual manner in which the people of Vijayanagara appreciated the services of those who gave up their lives for public good. Even in later Vijayanagara history we have evidence of *nettaru-goḍage* having been granted by the rulers or their subordinates. An inscription dated A. D. 1569 relates that Tirumala Rāya Dēva Mahārāya was pleased to order the grant of the *māgaṇi* of Golahaḷḷi in the Doḍḍēri-sīme of the Rāya-durga-sthaḷa, to Aubhalaiya, son of Doḍḍēri Malapa Gauḍa, "for sacrificing his life", as a *nettaru-goḍage*; and that the *Mahānāyakāchārya* Harati Lakshmīpati Nāyaka forthwith executed the royal order by assigning it as a permanent gift, with all rights, to the donee.¹ Keḷadi Rāmarāja Nāyaka-ayya granted to Hiriya Kaliyūr Timma's (son) Malarasa a *nettaru-goḍage* (specified) in the Hennagēri village, in A. D. 1571, for some service not stated in the epigraph.² In about A. D. 1598 Keḷadi Malle Gauḍa gave to the Yalagaṇale torch-bearer (*divaru*) Bommayya's son Kāma a *nettaru-goḍage* as follows : "Your Bommi having died in our service, we have given for him land (as specified) in Beḷala-matti."³ Suguṭūr Immaḍi Tammaya-Gauḍayya granted land (specified), in A. D. 1602, for the children of the cowherd Hiriya Chennaiya for "having exerted himself at the time of need and died".⁴ This could only have been a *nettaru-goḍage*, since the Suguṭūr rulers, as is evident from a grant dated A. D. 1630, were aware of the traditional method of recompensing the services of dutiful subjects. In this year, when "Rāma Dēva Rāya was ruling the empire of the world", Suguṭūr Chikka Rāya Tammaya Gavuḍa granted to the *Daḷavāyi* Soṇṇaya Gauḍa a *nettaru-goḍage śāsana* as follows : "You having taken great trouble and carried out for our government the list of orders written out for our affairs, we grant to you...in the Suguṭūr village."⁵

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¹ E. C., XII., Mi. 10, p. 105. The interpretation given here is questionable.

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² E. C., VIII., Sa. 21, p. 95.

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³ Ibid., Sa. 26, p. 95.

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⁴ E. C., X., Si. 14, p. 181.

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⁵ Ibid., Kl. 164, 165, p. 55.

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Umbaḷi gifts were also called gauḍike-daṇḍige-umbaḷi, or merely gauḍike rights. According to a copper-plate dated A. D. 1486, "by order of the king" Narasiṅga Rāya, Gaṅge Gauḍa was granted the gauḍike of Hejāji, which he had built, and of other villages (named) for some service not mentioned in the record.¹ In A. D. 1528 Rāma Bhaṭṭa's... granted Kāmana-haḷḷi belonging to Aramala-sthaḷa (boundaries specified) to Akkimaṅgala Tammappa Gauḍa as a gauḍike-daṇḍige-umbaḷi, free of all imposts.² A stone inscription dated A. D. 1554 informs us that Niḍugal Kōmāra Timmaṇṇa Nāyaka granted to Tumukuṇṭe... Dharmagōḍu Gauḍa a gauḍike for having built a fort for the village, excavated channels, and restored the village of Tumukuṇṭe, together with the āya dammas, horse, umbrella, and lands (specified) as satige mānya.³ Similar improvements must have been made by Arasiyakere Seṭigoṇḍa Gauḍa, who received from Niḍugal Timmaṇṇa Nāyaka, in A. D. 1560, the gauḍike of Arasiyakere together with land (specified) as a mānya to be enjoyed as a kāṇāchi.⁴

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¹ E. C., XII., Tm. 54, p. 15.

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² E. C., X, Sd. 15, p. 181.

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³ E. C., XII, Pg. 39, p. 121.

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⁴ Ibid., Pg. 38, p. 120. Kāṇāchi is the Kanarese form of the Tamil kāṇiyāṭchi.

Section 3. Titles and Honours

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In addition to the system of granting lands to persons who performed useful services to the country, the State also bestowed titles, honours, and privileges on all classes of people. The rulers themselves assumed great titles, and their subordinates, as in other matters, imitated them. Without entering into the question of the validity of the claims of the rulers of Vijayanagara to assume a string of grandiloquent birudus, we may allude briefly to the titles of the greatest monarch of southern India, Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya, before narrating those of some of the most prominent generals and viceroys of Vijayanagara.¹ An inscription dated Śaka 1430 (A. D. 1518-9) gives the following birudus of Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya : "The angry punisher of rival kings; he whose arms resemble (the coils of the serpent Śēsha); he who is versed in protecting the earth; the destroyer of those kings who break their word; he who satisfies suppliants; he who is fierce in war; the king of kings and the supreme lord of kings; the destroyer of the three kings (of the south); he who terrifies hostile kings; the Sultan among Hindu kings; he who crushes the wicked like tigers; and the double-headed eagle which splits the temples of troops of elephants";²—"his generosity praised by the wise, this king of kings Kṛṣṇa Rāya, established on the jewel-throne in Vijayanagara, daily surpassing Nṛiga and all others, shone in the power of good fortune and the fullness of fame from the eastern to the western mountains and from the extremity of Hēmāchala to Sētu."³ Sometimes, however, the great Emperor was merely styled samasta-bhuvanāśraya—"The Refuge of all worlds"—which carries us the memories of the Hoysalas and the Western Chālukyas.⁴ These birudus, which were not altogether unjustifiable, except in a few instances, sounded incredibly pedantic to foreigners like Pimenta.⁵

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¹ For the birudus of various rulers, the following may be read—Harihara Rāya II.: *Ep. Ind.*, III, p. 125; Sāḷuva Nṛisiṁha: *Ep. Ind.*, VII, p. 84. On the *Bhēruṇḍa* title of the monarchs: *Ep. Ind.*, I, p. 369; n 63; Achyuta Rāya: 162 of 1905; Sadāśiva Rāya: 151 of 1907; 148 of 1907; Veṅkaṭapati Dēva I.: *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 186; Ranga Rāya II.: *Ep. Ind.*, XI, p. 328; *Ep. Ind.*, XII, p. 343. *Ep. Carn.* may also be consulted in this connection.

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² *Ep. Ind.*, I, p. 369.

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³ *E. C.*, VII, Sh. I, p. 2; See also *S. I. I.* pp. 80, 120, 123, 131-2, n. (7), 139; 169; Butterworth-Chetty, *Nellore Ins.*, I., p. 315, and (n). For Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya's qualifications: *Ep. Ind.*, I., p. 370; *Ep. Report* for 1909, p. 118. On the titles *Aśvapati*, *Gajapati*, and *Narapati*, *Haiderabad Arch. Series*, *Ins. at Nāgai*, No. 8, p. 6; *E. C.*, II., p. 45 (2nd ed.); *My. Arch. Report* for 1921, p. 26; Beal, *Buddhist Records of the Western World*, I., p. 13; *I. A.*, XV., pp. 9, and 9, n (52); 13; *I. A.*, XVII., pp. 225, 227; *Ep. Ind.*, III., p. 33, n (2). For Gajapatis of Orissa, Mackenzie, *Local Records*, Vol. XLIV, p. 491; XLVI, p. 105; XVIII, p. 218.

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⁴ *E. C.*, III, Intr., p. 25 Nj. 63 of A. D. 1519, p. 101.

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⁵ Pimenta gives some of these birudus. Purchas, *Pilgrims*, X., pp. 209-10.

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The princes and viceroys also assumed titles. Prince Virabhūpa in Śaka 1508 (A. D. 1586-87) bears the following birudus: *samaya-drōhara-gaṇḍa*, *Ayyāvaḷi-puravarādhīśvara* (Ailāvaḷipura of other records), and *dakṣiṇa-samudrēśa*.¹ Kṛṣṇappa Nāyaka, in a record dated Śaka 1489 (A. D. 1567), is given these titles—*Kañchīpuravarādhīśvara*, *Mōkālipaṭṭavardhana*, *samaya-drōhara gaṇḍa*, *samaya-kōlāhala*, *Ailāvaḷi puravarādhīśvara*, *Pāṇḍya-kula-sthāpanāchārya*, and *dakṣiṇasamudrādhipati*.² The Ummatūr chieftain Malla Rāja Odeyar, in A. D. 1532, was styled thus: "...*the lord of the Ummattūr kingdom, hunter of elephants, gēṇānka-chakrēśvara, javādi-kōlāhala, arasaṅka-sūnegāra, a Hanuman in crushing enemies....*"³

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¹ Gopinatha Rao, *Ep. Ind.*, XII., p. 161.

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² Gopinatha Rao-Raghaviah, *Ep. Ind.*, IX p. 330, Kṛṣṇappa Nāyaka was the grandson of the Nāgama Nāyaka and the son by Nāgama of Viśvanātha Nāyaka.

v2.c22.s3.10

³ *My. Arch. Report* for 1920, p. 37, Cf. The titles of Chikka Rāya of Ummattūr in A. D. 1506. E. C., III, M1. 95, p. 65, text, pp. 196-7; E. C., IV., Ch. 107, p. 14.

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We may also note the *birudus* of less important dignitaries. In A. D. 1529 the *Mahāmaṇḍalēśvara hanneya-gajapati*, *dharaṇī-varāha*, and *manneya-śārdūla-chamaṭi* Bhōga Rāja (or Bhōgaya Dēva), with other titles (*ivu modalāda-birudāvaḷi-bhūshitarāda*) was the Nāyaka placed over Śrīraṅgapaṭṭaṇa by Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya.⁴ The *Mahāprabhu* Bhairaṇṇa Nāyaka is given the following *birudus* in A. D. 1472: *Maleya-hulimārthāṇḍan* (the sun to hill tigers), *Iḍigay-eṇṭu-daṇḍigeya manneyara-gaṇḍa* (champion over the manneyas of the Iḍiga Eight Daṇḍige), *the mother-home to both (sects of) Nānā-dēśis*, *chief-lord of Aiśvaryya-pura*, the *Pārśva-tīrthēśvara* of Idugaṇi.⁵

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⁴ E. C. III, Sr. 2, p. 7.

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⁵ E. C., VIII., Sa. 60, p. 103.

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The heads of religious institutions were also known by their titles. In a grant dated Śaka 1450 (A. D. 1528-9) Sadāśiva Sarasvatī, disciple of Chandraśēkhara Sarasvatī, of the Śṛṅgēri Maṭha is called—*The great sage working for salvation*, the great saint and anchorite, whose body is besmeared with holy ashes, who wears a necklace of rudrāksha beads; who is high-souled and talented, who has practised the eight-fold path of the Yōga; who is compassionate to all beings, (but) is (himself) above the pair of opposites like heat and cold, which only give rise to pain; who is possessed of knowledge and freedom from attachment; also is master of himself, and the Guru, who is Śiva incarnate.¹ The birudus of Chandra-chūḍā Sarasvati, the head of the Kāmakōṭi-pīṭha of the Śāradā Maṭha of Conjeeveram,² are thus given in a record dated Śaka 1444 (A. D. 1522-3): The talented and high-souled saint, the disciple of Mahādēva Sarasvati, a devotee of Śiva, the famous commentator on all the śāstras, and an expert in māyavāda (the doctrine of māyā).³ According to a record dated in Śaka 1307, expired (A. D. 1385), the Jaina teachers of a school led by Simhanandin were called by the following titles: āchārya, ārya, guru, dēśika, muni and yōgindra.⁴

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¹ Veṅkaṭēśvara-Viśvanātha, *Ep. Ind.*, XIV., p. 175.

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² Reputed to have been founded by the great Śaṅkarāchārya. Veṅkaṭēśvara-Viśvanātha, *Ep. Ind.*, XIII., p. 123.

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³ Veṅkaṭēśvara-Viśvanātha, *Ep. Ind.*, XIII., p. 132.

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⁴ *S. I. I.*, I, p. 156.

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Titles were also bestowed on men of learning and ordinary citizens. Mr. R. Narasimhachar has given us a list of the titles given to poets. These were the following:

v2.c22.s3.20

ಕನ್ನಡಜಾಣ, ಕವಿಸಂಜೀವನ, ಗುಣರತ್ನ, ಚಂದನತಿಲಕ, ಚೂಡಾರತ್ನ, ಜಿನಮುನಿಪಾದ, ಬಲ್ಲವರಸ, ಬುಧಜನಮಿತ್ರ, ಭೂಭುಜರತ್ನ, ಧೂಸರತಿಲಕ, ಮದನಾಂಗನಾಶನ, ವರಕವಿಚಂದ್ರ, ವಾಣೀಮುಕುರ, ವಿದಗ್ಧಚೂಡಾರತ್ನ, ವಿದಗ್ಧಲಲಾಮ, ವಿವೇಕಚೂಡಾರತ್ನ, ವೈರಾಗ್ಯನಿಧಿ, ಸರಸ್ವತೀಮಣಿಹಾರ, ಸರಸ್ವತೀಮುಖತಿಲಕ, ಸುಕವಿಕಂಠಾಭರಣ, ಸುಕವಿಚೂಡಾರತ್ನ, ಸುಕವಿಕರನಿಲಂ, ಸುಗುಣಕಂಠಾಭರಣ, ಸುಜನಮನೋಜ, ಸುಜನಮುಖಮಣಿಮುಕುರ, ಸುಜನ್ಮಿಕಬಾಂಧವ⁵

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⁵ *Kavicharite*, II, p. 175.

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To the celebrated poet Allasāni Peddana, Kṛṣṇa Dēva Rāya gave titles as well as the coveted anklet called kavigaṇḍa-peṇḍāra. This we gather from the pathetic verse of the great poet written on the death of his beloved patron. "Why did he (king Kṛṣṇa) get down from his mad elephant wherever he met me and lift me up to sit by his side? Why did he raise up the palanquin (which carried me), with his own arm, when I was taken round in procession on presenting my poem *Manucharitra*? Why did he put on my leg with his own hand, the anklet *kavigaṇḍa-peṇḍāra* saying 'You alone deserve it'? Why gave villages to me wherever I chose to have them, called me *Andhrakavi-pitāmaha* and Alasāni Peddana 'lord of poets'? Fie upon this living carcase of mine that breathes still without accompanying that great Kṛṣṇarāya to heaven!"¹

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¹ *Lives of Telugu Poets*, p. 190; Krishna Sāstry, *A. S. R.* for 1908-9, p. 185, n. (3).

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We have already seen that Tiraka Gauḍa, younger brother of Bomma Dēva Gauḍa, in the course of the muster of troops summoned by Viraṇṇa Oḍeyar to quell the rising of the Bēḍar chief Boḷeya Mummeya Nāyaka, remarked that Guṇḍa Daṇṇāyaka, the famous general of Harihara Rāya, had given him the title of "Champion over the three Kings" (*mūvara-rāyara-gaṇḍa*).² An inscription dated A. D. 1424 relates that Chāma Nṛipāla, who constructed the great Haridrā dam, was known by the title of *gaṇḍara-gūḷi*.³

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² *E. C.*, VIII, Nr. 29, p. 132, op. cit.

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³ *E. C.*, XI, Dg. 29, p, 39, op. cit.

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These titles which are found in profusion in epigraphs and literature, were conferred on recipients after due formalities at the royal court or in the *chāvaḍi* or the court of the provincial rulers. Learned men and poets received their titles in this manner. Some details about this can be gathered from an inscription dated A. D. 1447 already cited in an earlier connection. We saw that Mallikārjuna Rāya being disposed to perform an act of Dharma, and having bathed and put on pure and clean garments, was surrounded with Brahmans on the bank of the Tuṅgabhadrā, in the Bhāskara-kṣētra, at the foot of the Hēmakūṭa-giri. The occasion was in connection with the honour that was to be given to Ādityāryya (descent stated), the author of Bhāshya-bhūshaṇa. This man was proficient in all learning. The king having examined him in a learned assembly in all branches of study, and all the learned men being pleased, granted him the village of Nallaṅgi in the Rāyadurga kingdom.¹ An epigraph dated A. D. 1505 informs us that Bhujabala Pratāpa Narasimha Mahārāya, " in the course of bestowing the great gifts, among them, when bestowing the mahābhūta-ghaṭa, in the presence of the god Śrī-Ranganātha", on the bank of the Chandrapushkaraṇī, honoured Ranganātha Bhaṭṭa, versed in the six darshanas, with the office of āchārya together with the gift of the village Honnakahaḷḷi in the kingdom of (the Ummattūr chief) Chikka Rāja Oḍeyar.²

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¹ E. C., XII, Mi. 69, p. 128. As regards these learned assemblies, we have in Nāḷadiyār some interesting details. Nāḷadiyār, Ch. XXXII, p. 202, seq (Pope).

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² E. C., IV, Gu. 67, p. 47.

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As regards the name of the place on which the rulers sat, we have the following in connection with Kampaṇa Oḍeyar in an inscription dated Śaka 1289 (A. D. 1367-8): the king while seated in the jānaki-maṇḍapa in the Puṇyakōṭīśvara temple at Little Conjeeveram, Chingleput district, honoured Śrī-Parakāla Nambi with the name of karuṇākara-dāśan together with honours, privileges, and a dwelling-house.³

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³ 27 of 1921. The method in which the Sālu-Mūle Baṇajigas of various places conferred the Mayoralty of the Earth on Muddayya Daṇṇāyaka in A.D. 1382 may also be recalled here. E. C., V, P.I. Bl. 75, p. 53, op. cit.

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In fact, the rulers of Vijayanagara not only granted lands and high sounding birudus to persons of distinction but also gave them certain coveted privileges and insignia of honour. The famous dictator Veṅkaṭatātārya, whom, as already narrated above, Kṛishṇa Dēva Rāya the Great invested with uncommon religious powers in A. D. 1523, was entitled to receive the first tīrtha and prasāda in all the great Vishṇu temples in Vijayanagara, Ghaṇādri, and all the 77 durgas subordinate to them, e. g., Chandragiri-durga, Gutti-durga, etc., in all the cities to the east and west of Vijayanagara as far as the sea; in all the durgas to the north and south as far as Madura and in all the holy places such as Kañchi, Triśaila, and Khādri excepting Śrīraṅgam, Ahōbala and Ghaṭikagiri; privileged to get the first honours in the assemblies of the Śrīvaishṇavas; and authorized to make enquiries into the conduct of all castes owing allegiance to Rāmānuja and to punish the delinquents in regard to religious and social matters.¹

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¹ My. Arch. Report for 1918, p. 52.

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The rulers gave privileges also to religious institutions. The *svamis* of the Śṛingēri Maṭha, for example, were recipients of great honours and privileges at the hands of the Vijayanagara kings. A copper-plate grant dated A. D. 1463 relates that Immaḍi Dēva Rāya Mahārāya, folding his hands to his forehead (in reverence) gave a *vaibhava-tāmra-śāsana* (or copper *śāsana* conferring insignia) as follows: "Now, in the presence of the god Virūpākshēśvara, we grant to you in addition, two five branched torches, five *kalaśas* above the palanquin, and so forth..." in confirmation of the rights already enjoyed by Rāghavēśvara Bhārati Śrīpāda.² These other insignia, we may also here note, are mentioned in another copper-plate dated A. D. 1450 which speaks of the *vaibhava-tāmra-śāsana* granted by Vidyāraṇya Śrīpāda to Chidbōdha Bhārati of Gōkarṇa. In addition to other privileges this record relates that Vidyāraṇya Śrīpāda conferred on the donee "throne, crown, palanquin, white umbrella, *chārmaras* on both sides, *makara tōraṇa* (a kind of arched canopy), fan, daylight torch, yellow and red flags and such insignia, with cymbals, conchs, *cakra*, and other musical instruments, in the presence of people come from many countries."³

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² E. C., VIII, Nr. 68, p. 158.

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³ Ibid., Nr. 67, p. 157. The late Mr. Venkoba Rao suggested the follwing—"...A. D. 1500 was the traditional date for the acquisition by Sri Vyasarayasvami of the green flag—rather the green umbrella—on a camel". *Vyāsayōgicharitam*, Intr. pp. xiii, cxxxix. The same writer also suggested that the green flag may have come from Babur. *Ibid*., p. cxxx. As regards the Vijayanagara rulers acquiring the green umbrella, (*Sāḷuvābhudayam*, Canto VII), it appears that Sāḷuva Nrisimha also possessed one. See Venkoba Rao, ibid., cviii. See *supra*, Volume I., Ch. V. Sec. 3 for the remarks of 'Abdur Razzāq on the umbrellas borne before the daṇḍyaka, B.A.S.

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The State also conferred high privileges on men of distinguished service. An inscription dated Śaka 1506 (A. D. 1584-5)

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relates that Veṅkaṭarāya Dēva Chōḍa Mahārāya, a prince of the Solar race, received certain privileges in the Ahōbaḷa temple under orders from the king Vīra Pratāpa Raṅgarāya Dēva, at the request of Voṃ-Sāthagōpa-Jiyyamgāru. The reason why the Vijayanagara monarch granted him the privileges is also stated in the same epigraph. The grandfather of the donee, Koṇḍarāja (Veṅkaṭarāja) Timmarāja, had expelled the Muhammadan chief Vibhurāmu (?Ibrāhīm), who had occupied the temple of Ahōbalam for seven years with the aid of the Haṇḍevāru chiefs. For restoring the temple to its original state, the family of Veṅkaṭarāya Chōḍa Mahārāya was granted great honours by the orders of the king.¹

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¹ 70 of 1915.

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Temple authorities also gave privileges to persons of distinction. In Śaka 1454 (A. D. 1532-3) the right of securing holy water and consecrated food after worship in the temple of Śrī Dēvanāyaksvāmi, in the village of Tiruvāhindrapuram, was given to one Rāmānuja Āchārya.² Certain religious privileges were conferred on a Brāhmaṇ by 74 chief priests of the Vaishṇava faith in A. D. 1538 during the reign of Achyuta Rāya.³

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² Sewell, *Lists*, II, C.P. No. 18, p. 34; Rangachari, *Top List*, I, SA. 335, p 169.

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³ Sewell, ibid., No. 74, p. 9; Rangachari, ibid., SA. 198, p. 154. Cf. the privileges and duties of a temple superintendent given in 89 of 1906; Rangachari, ibid., SA. 592, p. 199.

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The State further granted privileges to ministers and viceroys. Two pillar inscriptions of Kṛishṇa Dēva Rāya the Great (A. D. 1515) relate that the lord Nāḍiṇḍla Appa "obtained from the glorious king Kṛishṇa and minister Timma (the right to use) a palanquin, two chauris, and a parasol, and the posts of superintendent of Vinikoṇḍa, Gutti, and the city on the golden mountain (Mēru), of commander-in-chief of a large army consisting of rutting elephants, horses and infantry, and of sole governor of that kingdom." The same records relate that "the glorious lord Sāḷva-Timma, the minister of the glorious Kṛishṇa, the first among kings, gave to his younger son-in-law, the glorious Gōpa, the best among governors and an excellent minister, the post of governor of the whole empire of the city of Koṇḍavīṭi, together with an army consisting of rutting elephants, horses and infantry, and (the right to use) a palanquin and two *chaurīs*.¹

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¹ *Ep. Ind.*, VI, pp. 130-1.

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The *History of the Carnataca Governors* relates that Viśvanātha Nāyaka was granted by the State valuable jewels and the apparel "which he (the king) had on his own person", because that famous general had killed a big buffalo at one stroke. And when Viśvanātha brought his own father a prisoner to the capital, the Emperor gave him robes and other presents.²

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² Taylor, *O.H.MSS.*, II, pp. 7, 13.

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The same account informs us that the chief man of the village Pugalur, named Udiyan Sethopathi, (Uḍaiyan Sētupati?), safely escorted the chief *guru* of Muttu Kṛiṣṇappa Nāyaka to Rāmēśvaram, and received in recognition of his services, grants of land, villages, honorary dress and various ornaments as presents.³ For the insignia of a chief man of a village we may refer to an inscription dated A. D. 1472 which mentions that Iduvaṇi Baliya Gauḍa's son Haivaṇṇa Nāyaka, the foremost man in Ānevaḷige in Nagiraṭhāvu, was entitled to possess an umbrella, betel bag, lamp-stand pillar, ornamental coin (*aṅka-teṅke*), and others (*muntāda-tēja-mānyavanu*).⁴

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³ *Ibid.*, p. 27.

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⁴ *E. C.*, VIII, Sa. 60, p. 103; P. II, p. 277. A doubtful record assigned by Rice to about A. D. 1527, mentions that Saṅkaṇṇa, the head man of Pithamane village, in Nāgarakhaṇḍa, received the privilege of having the first *prasāda*, the first *tambūla*, in all the *agrahāras* and towns in the *nāḍ*, together with an "independent oversight of all the religious ceremonies in this Kupaṭūr-nāḍ". *Ibid*, Sb. 265, p. 43, and n. (1).

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Rights were also given to the first settlers in a new town. This was obviously to aid the building of new towns. Kṛiṣṇappa Nāyaka's Agent Viṭhṭhaṇa Nāyaka was holding the *pārupatya* of the Bāgūr-sīme in A. D. 1554, in the reign of the Emperor Sadāśiva Rāya. The inscription relates that the outer *pēṭe* (evidently of Bāgūr) being in ruins, Narasimmaiya of the Customs petitioned to Viṭhṭhaṇa Nāyaka, "whereupon he sent for Liṅgaṇa Gauḍa and many others (named) all the subjects, and directed them to have the *peṭe* built, giving it another name of Kṛṣṇāpura after Eṛe-Kṛṣṇappa Nāyakayya and populate it. Those who settle there will be free of all taxes for one year from the time they come; after that they will not only be included in the family agreement, but if they have taken possession, we and the subjects will give up (our claim)." (*bandanthā-vakkalige vokkalu banda vondu-varusha sarvamānya munde vokkala voḍambaḍikeyalu biṭṭukoṭṭa pramāṇav allade anubhava māḍidare nāvu prajegaḷu pariharisi koḍuvevu*).¹

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¹ E. C., XI, Hk. 112, p. 132, text p. 379.

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Presents were also given to masons, artisans, and carpenters. According to an inscription dated A. D. 1431, Tippa Rāja Oḍeyar's son Gōpa Rāja Oḍeyar's minister was Mallama Rāja. The son of Mallama Rāja was named Siṅga Rāja. This official "had the image Gaṇḍa-bhēruṇḍa, which was on the Māragaudaṇakaṭṭe west of Dūḍanahaḷḷi in Pāla-nāḍ, brought to the door of the *gōpura* of the *maṇṭapa* facing the god Varadarāja." And on this occasion, he had the "wood-work done by the hand of the Avikal carpenter Pēvōja's son Chājā-ōja", and having set up the door, and "the iron work done by the hand of the blacksmith Añjala Diviṅgōja, gave to those *ōjas* horse and umbrellas, with hereditary land (*kāṇi-bhūmyagi*) (as specified)."²

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² E. C., X, Mr. 3, p. 156. We have already noticed the presents given to Iraṇa Bōva who built the high towers of the Kaṇḍehaḷḷi fort, in about A. D. 1533. E.C., XI, Hr. 36, p. 109, op. cit.

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In connection with the royal pardon extended to Eleyūr Viśvanātha Seṭṭi's sons Nāgi Seṭṭi and Kāmi Seṭṭi by Harihara Rāya, as given in a record already cited, dated A. D. 1379, we may be allowed to repeat that in addition to the customs dues which the donees received from the king, they also secured palanquin and umbrella with *kalaśa* as their insignia.³

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³ E. C., XII, Si. 76, p. 99, op. cit.

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The leaders of commercial organizations worked in fields other than their own, and the State and the people recompensed their labour by giving them titles and customary rewards.

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The great Jaina-Śrīvaishṇava controversy of A. D. 1368, as we remarked in an earlier connection, ended amicably, and "Busuvi Seṭṭi, the good son of Harvi Seṭṭi of Kalleha, having made petition to Bukka Rāya, sent for Tātayya of Tirumale and had (?the śāsana) renovated. And both the samayas (creeds) uniting, bestowed the dignity of Saṅgha-nāyaka on Busuvi Seṭṭi".¹ Sumantira-murti-acharya was the chief sculptor who worked at the sculptured pillars of the vasanta-maṇṭapa at Madura in the reign of Muttu Tirumala Nāyaka. From the *The Accounts of Tirumala Naicker, and of his Buildings* we learn that the ruler, in order to do him honour, "gave him betel, on which he had himself spread chunam; and, by reason of being much occupied in looking after the work, the sculptor took it and disrespectfully put it into his mouth, before the king, when, a moment after, recollecting that he had acted improperly, he became inwardly afraid, and with an instrument cut off the two fingers with which he had conveyed the betel-leaf, etc. to his mouth. But the king bestowed on him four kinds of dresses; and had a hand made of gold, which he also gave to him."²

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¹ E. C., II, No. 344, p. 147. (2nd ed.).

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² Taylor, *O. H. MSS.*, II., p. 151.

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Koṛana Haripa's son Si . . ., who is described as "the worshipper of the feet of all the Brahmans of the immemorial agrahāra Kuppaṭūr", according to an inscription dated about A. D. 1470, killed a big tiger which had come into the Kēdagi wood in front of the town "by forcing it out with a great noise", and hitting "it savagely with a big club". It may be that he lost his life in his great adventure but the record informs us that "on rejoining the thousand, they gave him the name Ripu-Māri."³

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³ E. C., VIII, Sb. 258, p. 40. These remarks on the honours granted to various persons of merit may be compared with those of Nuniz who

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SECTION 4. *Patriotism

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The endearment of the people to their rulers is seen chiefly in the numerous records which contain grants of land for charitible purposes together with the significant phrase " for the merit of the king ". These epigraphs range from the earliest age to the last decades of Vijayanagara history, and are to be read together with the remarks we have already made in regard to protection and Dharma in the previous pages. The influence exerted by the monarch in these times was purely personal; and it is not surprising that, instead of the notions of nationality of the later ages, the people should have prayed for the merit of the king or for the success of his arms, and identified the prosperity of the country with the personal well being of the ruler.

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